Broken cycle
by WhisperingTrees
Summary: What is Lyanna had gone with Jon to Pentos and raised him alongside Aegon? Will they break the endless cycle of Targaryen maddness? undecided Jon pairing, but Aegon/Sansa. Rated T but possibly M in future. Chapter 3 out!
1. Prologue

**_This is my first fanfiction and i would appreciate most of all constructive criticism, as to improve my writing skills. Must likely my updates will be irregular, due to collage and my general laziness. This is an idea I have been playing around with for a while and I thought what the heel, i'll just post it so here it is. I know its a concept that many have tackled on this site, thus rendering it unoriginal, but hey i'm a strong believer in the L+R=J._**

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**_Prologue _**

_Spider,_

_As I am certain you already know, Lady Lyanna is with child, should things go awry when I meet the usurper in battle. I have arranged for Lyanna to be brought to the free city of Pentos. I hope I am correct in assuming you still serve the Targaryen Dynasty, as I will require your help in arranging passage._

_Dragon_

_Dragon,_

_You are correct in assuming my loyalty is to you, although things are not going well with your Father and I am afraid it would not be in the realm's best interest if he should remain King. My connections in Pentos are strong; of course I will arrange passage and suitable accommodation for your Lady. Should you require any more assistance... well you know where to find me._

_Spider_

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**_several months later..._**

Robert had crossed the line this time. All other things Ned had forgiven him for, but this was unforgivable. Robert was renown for drinking, feasting and whoring, but never had Ned thought he could condemn the Murder of innocent children. The argument had lasted nearly twenty minutes before Ned grew tired of listening to Robert justify Tywin Lannisters actions.

After the argument with Robert, Ned had wandered the castle in search of clues to Lyanna's whereabouts. That was when he noticed the lack of Kingsgaurd protecting the royal family. Finding this curious, he had sought out Ser Barristan Selmy. He was told that Rhaegar had insisted three members of the Kingsgaurd had been sent to an unknown location in Dorne. The Lord Commander then pointed him in the direction of Lord Varys, who would be the most likely person to know.

As he walked into Varys' office the door shut behind him. He turned around to find Varys behind the door, as if he had been expecting his arrival, as he likely had. Without saying a word, he handed Eddard a letter sealed with the Targaryen seal. Cautiously, for fear of the content,he opened the letter.

_Lord Stark,_

_I assume that as you are reading this letter I am dead and the war is over. I assure you that when I eloped with Lyanna I did not intend to start a war. I am truly sorry for what my father did to your family, as fundamentally it was my fault. _

_Lord Varys can be trusted with sensitive information as none of this would be possible without him. Lyanna is alive. She and the babe will hopefully by now on a ship to Pentos, I have sent two knights for protection and she will be greeted by Magister Illyrio Mopatis, who i have been assured it a Targaryen loyalist. I am sorry that it must be like this but due to the dangers the child would pose to the usurper, this is the safest way. Lyanna is well aware of this plan as it was partly her idea, I'm sure you already gathered that she did not want to marry Robert Baratheon, and this will be the only way to ensure the child's safety. Any contact you wish to have with your sister, Varys would be happy to assist with. Again I can not express enough how truley sorry I am for my part in this bloodshed._

_Rhaegar Targaryen_

Ned put down to letter, relief and happiness overwhelmed him. Lyanna was alive. Those words lingered in his head the longest. This was the best news he could hope for, his younger sister was not dead. Not dead, but with a child. Ned pulled himself together as he grasped the seriousness of the situation. Lyanna may not be dead but with possibly the last living Targaryen heir suckling at her breast, she would be if Robert found out.

Finally he spoke. "What does this mean now" his voice thick with conflicting emotions.

Varys simply replied , "Well my lord. That is entirely up to you"

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**After I have decided the direction of this story I will try to update. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to my sister for proofreading this for me.**

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**When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt.**

**"There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him."**

**"He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire. - These are GRRM's prophesy's relating to the prince that was promised/Azor Ahai, personally I do believe it is Daenerys so i might incorporate this into the story- i'm not sure but we will see hoe it goes.  
**

**I'm going to start this chapter with sort of another prologue, as I wanted to write about what Rheagar was feeling in his last moments. But for the majority of the chapter it will be 13 years later. I have also decided to add Viserys into the story for now. Though I have read other stories where he is cold towards Lyanna, this will not be the case in mine, well at least at the moment. I am afraid I have not counted Viserys into the main cast so to say. So I apologize in advance if you are a fan. Also I like the idea that if he had a stable family it might delay the inevitable madness for a while. **

**I would also like to mention that Jon has Targaryen silver hair, but the Stark grey eyes and face.**

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**Rhaegar**

Robert Baratheon loomed over him, prepared to unleash the final blow that would ultimately end his life forever. It was not his life he mourned for,but his loved ones, if he fell his family would surely fall with him. As his final moments slid by, bringing him ever closer to his impending doom, he came to question his actions. Neither of his marriages had his desired outcome, but however ill-fated they seemed he could not bring himself to regret them:

Elia, sweet innocent Elia Martell; he was under no illusions that it was purely a political bond, but despite this he had grown fond of the woman. She had given him two beautiful children, befitting their royal roles, a prince to continue the dynasty and a princess to secure alliances in the realm. But it was not true love.

Lyanna, wild unpredictable Lyanna Stark, she was no queen but she gave him passion, heated romance and ironic security. He felt complete with her, at first he told himself it was the prophesy, but he began to rely on her for stability and comfort in a time of unrest. They said love clouds better judgement, and speaking from experience Rhaegar could not disagree. If he had known the consequences of his actions he would have approached the situation differently, but he could not think of a way in which he could have avoided a conflict with the Lord of the Stormlands.

Alas finally he came to think about his sons. He was sure that Aegon would be the promised prince, and if he could not save anyone else, for the realms sake he would save him. Of course all the arrangements had been made, with the help of a wolf and a spider he had ensured the safety of his sons, his only regret was that he could not save everyone.

"So it ends, Rhaegar," bellowed Robert triumphantly, "My love will be pleased, for I have killed her defiler in the most honorable way, more than he deserves"

Rhaegar did not so much as attempt to defend himself, for there was no point, better to face death honorably than as a craven. Roberts blow felt as if all his breath had left him at one, it was no lie Robert Baratheon was a beast with a war hammer. As a mixture of rubies and blood poured from Rhaegars chest, he had time only to realize he had not named his unborn child for that he whispered,"Forgive me Lyanna"

And Prince Rhaegar Targaryen was no more, killed in retribution for his wrongdoings.

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**Lyanna**

From the Magisters gardens she watched her sons spar with live steel. It had seemed both Jon and Aegon had taken after their father in their ability with a sword, as they were both evenly matched. These matches happened regularly and lasted for hours at at a time, and both were as stubborn as each other, refusing to submit. Lyanna sighed, for only when Viserys intervened would it end.

Over the years Lyanna had come to think of Aegon as her own, although of course the boy knew he was not, yet so too had Aegon come to think of her as a mother. Her relationship with Daenarys and Viserys was also good, considering they owed her no respect for her part in the fall of the Targaryens. Viserys had grown into a fine man, although she was concerned for his mental well-being given the Targaryen trait. When Lyanna had arrived with Aegon and Jon all those years ago, Rhaegars siblings - although admittedly Daenarys had been younger than both Aegon and Jon - had taken kindly them. About the only thing she and Viserys had disagreed on was Jons Name.

_"What sort of a name is Jon? How about Aerys, after my father or Jaehaerys? Those are names befitting a Targaryen," moaned Viserys "Anything but Jon!," Lyanna had to laugh at that. Viserys was nothing if not proud of his house and legacy, even at a early age._

_"Well sweetling, Jon is a name of the north like mine, Rhaegar and I never really discussed names, but would you like to choose a Targaryen name for him as well?" Lyanna replied softly. _

_"Daeron!" He exclaimed, "He shall be called Jon Daeron Targaryen"_

From that day on Viserys had only called him Daeron. Jon never did seem to mind, for he had no link to the North that he cared for except for his mother. He was a true Targaryen.

Aegon's exclamation of victory broke Lyanna out of her daydream. " Did, you see that Mother? I broke through his guard, I am victorious!"

"Well done Aegon" She called back, earning her a murderous glare from Jon. Both of them were sore losers, this would mean hours of sulking from Jon. Under his breath Jon swore in old Valerian before stating "This has been going on for hours, I was simply getting bored of playing this childish game" trying to recover his dignity.

"I'm sure" replied Lyanna as convincingly as possible. She got up to walk back into the house, as she had no desire to sit out in the unbearable afternoon heat. As she passed through the doors, she could hear the brothers arguing in Valerian, and sighed. At times she wished she could speak it fluently, as the others did. But she was not the blood of old Valeria; the blood of the First Men ran through her veins.

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**Winterfell**

Sat in the great hall of Winterfell, Lord Eddard was contemplating the idea of visiting his sister in Pentos.

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**I'm going to end it here I think as I cant think of anything to add, hopefully the next chapter will be longer.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Once again, proofread by my sister. Sorry that the chapter took so long to put up, but she was taking a long while to read through it. Probably because I use "With that" in one chapter more than someone writing a full length set of novels.**

**Chapter 2: **

**Ned **

The letter from Lyanna had arrived a few days ago; as usual it detailed the progress of his nephew, Jon, and a few notes about how she was doing. Most unexpectedly, and invitation to a party thrown my magister Illyrio had been added to the letter. The party was scheduled for a months' time in honour of a surprise announcement. On one hand, having never visited Essos he was sceptical about going. However on the other hand he had not seen his sister since she had eloped with Rhaegar. Sometimes it was like his sister was dead, letters were scarce and he had only Varys' word that she was alive. It would be wonderful to visit his sister after all this time, but that was not the only reason he wanted to attend this party.

Ned knew the Targaryens would not stay in Essos forever, and that they would eventually want to take back the Seven Kingdoms. Robert knew of the last of the Dragons, but given that they were in a different country and he was not receiving all of the facts, he had not decided to pursue the matter any further. However, Ned had heard whispers of dead Knight rising again in the east, goodness knows what that meant, but there were always aspects of truth in these rumours. Always.

Lyanna's letter, brought up distant memory of times long ago, as they always did, when his family had been whole and happy. No 'dragon princes' or rebellions to tear them apart. With Brandon dead, Lyanna overseas and Benjen at the wall, he seemed alone. If not for Catelyn and the children, he would have given up long ago.

It was unlike Lyanna to risk the safety of her family for a party, she knew that if Robert received even a whiff of a contester to the throne, his full fury would be down upon them all. He had not seen his friend since the Greyjoy rebellion 5 years past, he had heard that since then his years had caught up with him. Somehow Ned could not imagine that. Robert Baratheon, the man who had rose up in open rebellion, the man who had caved a hole in Rhaegar Targaryen chest, the man who had almost wiped out the Greyjoy line.

But it was common knowledge that the King had taken Lyanna's betrayal hard. Not only was his pride wounded, but his heart also. Ned thanked the Gods that he had not pursued Lyanna across the narrow sea, as Lyanna and Varys had worked hard to keep Aegon and Jon's existence a secret. For it was Varys who has suggested a marriage between Cersei Lannister and the King, claiming it would strengthen the realm, not to mention the crowns wealth.

Robert was likely to find out about his visit to Pentos, but for now it was a trivial matter; he would likely ignore Ned for a while before he needed his friend again or the North at his back. Ned, at least, had made up his mind that he was going to go, but he would at least hear what his family had to say on the matter beforehand.

The great hall of Winterfell was huge, and when it was only the Stark family dining it was eerily empty. The sound of the footsteps of servants and the scraping of chairs echoed across the great hall. It was the only sound there until Ned coughed to get his family's attention.

"As you must know my sister Lyanna is Pentos with the Targaryens" Ned started, garnering their ears "A letter arrived this morning asking us to attend a party thrown by Illyrio and I would like to discuss it with you. I myself have decided to go, but company would be most welcome"

His family looked taken aback; there was a momentary pause before Robb replied. "I, for one, would like to visit this cousin to make sure he is real and not a figment of your imagination, father" a teasing smile on his face. Ned couldn't blame his eldest son, for he himself was yet to have evidence of the boys' existence.

"A real prince just like one of my poems" murmured Sansa wishfully, Arya glared at her before adding, "Horseback riding, ships and faraway lands, sounds like an adventure to me. Don't the horse lords live in Essos, father?"

"Not in Pentos, Arya" Sansa replied quickly, hushing her sister

"Well if you're going to be travelling by sea, you couldn't go without me, you would all be hopeless" said Theon with a smirk.

Ned looked over to Catelyn. He had, of course, warned her before dinner about Lyanna's letter, for it was only fair that she knew. She hadn't taken the news as bad as Ned might have expected. "Well my love if it is what they wish let them go, it will do them good to see a world outside Winterfell" Catelyn said, thus earning gratifying grins from the eldest children. "However, Bran and Rickon are far too young and will remain here" both of the boys were none the wiser did not react.

"I suppose I shall write to Lyanna, notifying her of our attendance". Turning back to his children he added "I expect all of you to be packed and ready to go by the morrow after next. Be warned it will be a long journey from here to Pentos"

With that they all went back to their meals, anticipating the upcoming trip.

**Robb**

The day of their departure had arrived; they were to ride to White Harbour followed by a sail to Pentos. Robb had never been on a ship before but Theon in all his wisdom had assured him it was the best feeling in the world. Robb could not help but be excited for his trip, he had read all of his aunt letters to his father but he had never hoped of meeting his extended family in person. Once nearly two years ago he had exchanged a few letters with Jon, but they took too long to deliver. From what he could gather Jon was a bookish person, as it reflected in his writing, but that was all he knew about his supposed cousin.

Summer snows flurried all around them as they made their way south east from Winterfell. It was rather beautiful, the northern country, in a rugged, harsh way. Vaguely, out of boredom, Robb wondered what the landscape was in Essos, was it dry like Dorne or green like the Riverlands? He guessed desert-like, as he had heard it was warm all the time over there. That was another thing he wasn't used to: warm weather. Of course he had visited Riverrun with his mother a few times, but the only difference between the Riverlands and the North was that the North had snow, and the Riverlands had rain.

On their journey they had stayed at inns or castles belonging to minor Lords, all welcoming the honourable Eddard Stark into their homes. Robb only wished he could command that much respect when he was Lord of Winterfell.

They arrived at White Harbour several days later sore, tired and in need of a good wash. The weather had taken a turn for the worse the day before, and they had been battered with sheeting rain since. It was not unusual in the North for this manner of weather, for what was snow if not frozen rain? Yet it was still a terrible hindrance in their journey.

As a banner man to his father, house Manderly had most graciously offered their castle. Atop the seafront castle flew their sigil, a white mermaid on a field of green. It wasn't nearly as fearful as the Starks direwolf thought Robb, mildly amused. As they made their way through the weather-worn front doors, Robb remembered something his father had said before they departed ._"It is said that Wyman Manderly can no longer sit upon a horse, if so I do not want any of you to mention it, understood?" The children nodded in unison, all except Theon who in an attempt to conceal his laughter had turned away. _

_Well_, thought Robb, _father was informed correctly_. The man before them was as wide as he was tall, with sausage like fingers extending from in hefty arms, his light hair flecked with grey. Despite his unsightly appearance, a smile extended across his whole face.

"My Lord, it has been years" announced Lord Manderly "I welcome you benevolently into my humble home". _As humble as the great keep, thought Robb._

"Many thanks, my Lord." Responded his father "may I introduce my children; Robb, Sansa, Arya and my ward Theon of house Greyjoy" Robb stood proud, making sure he held himself the way a lord should. Arya on the other hand muttered something under her breath, sounding suspiciously like Lord Lard, earning a laugh from Theon and a glare from her father.

"A pleasure to meet your acquaintances, please allow my servants to prepare you a bath, I have arranged a feast for the night" The mention of food seemed to make Manderly happy "After all it is not every day one gets to entertain his liege Lord"

With that, they were shown to their rooms. Dinner was a fairly uneventful one, unless you counted how many plates of food Lord Manderly had consumed. So much so it had left even Arya and Theon speechless.

"So" started Lord Manderly "What business do you have in Essos, my lord?"

"I am to pay a long overdue visit to Lyanna" replied Lord stark, taking a brief moment from his thoughts to answer the question.

"Lady Lyanna, is she still hiding from the King? Surely he must have forgotten her" said Manderly "he had that Lannister woman to bed"

"I believe she has grown rather attached to Pentos" His father sounded rather tired as he said it. Robb wondered to himself whether Eddard thought Lyanna had found a new family.

**Jon**

Mother had told him the news earlier. The Starks were paying them a visit. It wasn't that he didn't want to meet them; he simply didn't want to upset his family by them being here. It was no secret that his uncle Viserys hated Eddard Stark, he was associated with the usurper and that alone was enough to warrant dislike. Aegon and Daenerys had not shown as much resistance as Viserys but Jon knew them well enough to know they did not feel comfortable with him arriving.

Whilst reading in the courtyard Viserys had approached him. Jon had always had a talent for reading people, and over the past few months he had noticed a change in Viserys. He had become secretive, always sending letters to an unknown recipient. Not only that, but he had become angry and detached.

"Daeron" called his uncle. Viserys had never called him Jon and he didn't blame him, it was a boring name, a common name. He didn't understand his mother's insistence in calling him Jon, maybe he would ask her later.

"I just wanted to confirm your allegiance to house Targaryen" The question was sharp and to the point, Viserys' style, there was no kind words when he wanted something.

"Whatever do you mean uncle, my allegiance has and always will be to the dragons" Jon replied, he had no idea where this outburst had come from, but he would not have people question his honour.

"Good, good" Viserys muttered to himself. "I don't want these northerners corrupting your ideas, if we are to win back the throne; we need you on our side".

"Surely having the North on our side will favour us against the usurper" another one of Jon's strengths was tactics, and Jon saw no good in making further enemies of the north.

"The north will join our cause, I promise you that nephew, but there are other ways in insuring allies" with that Viserys walked off. Jon did not know what Viserys was planning, but he would get to the bottom of it. What he said had made Jon feel uneasy.

As Jon walked to meet Aegon for their lessons he saw Daenarys sobbing next to the fountain in the main courtyard.

"What's wrong Dany?" inquired Jon. Dany wasn't usually one for crying, she was independent and liked to prove it to the boys. Something strange was going on today first Viserys and now this, he wouldn't be surprised if Aegon suddenly declared is undying love for a Dothraki horselord.

"It's Viserys, he - he wants to marry me to Khal Drogo" She then continued sobbing into a cloth. Khal Drogo, Jon had met him a few times, Illroy had a deal, though it would be better described as a bribe, with him. He commanded a large cavalry, albeit savage, from rumours he had heard, it was over 40,000 strong. The Khalasar was well respected, feared throughout the continent through common business of rape, pillage, plundering.

It all made sense now Viserys wanted an army. Tactically it was good, Jon thought, although had Viserys overlooked the small problem; the Dothraki don't cross the sea. Of course this then raised the question _Is Viserys doing this for Aegon, the rightful king, or himself?_

Daenerys looked at him strangely before continuing "I think it's for himself. He's been acting very strange recently, I've heard him muttering things to himself, something along the lines of Rhaegar was never King, so Aegon has no right. His behaviour has been very erratic"

_Shit_, Jon thought. He paused. Had he said that out loud? However this information did confirm his fears, he would have to tell mother of this later, but now he had to go to his lesson. He didn't want another scolding from his maester again.

"Listen Dany, I have to go but I promise I'll inform mother later" He gave her an awkward hug before quickly running off in the direction of the library.

"10 minutes late Jon, if this continues I will refuse to teach you at all, is that understood" Fumed Maester Kaeth to his apprentice.

"Yes, maester" muttered Jon, nodding, before taking his seat by Aegon.

Today's lesson was on the houses of Westeros, it wasn't anything too hard. They were constantly going over the houses, however great or not, to ensure they remembered them. Daenarys was always good at remembering them, but she had started to learn the domestic arts two years ago with Lyanna. Although Jon suspected that when his mother said sewing it really meant swordplay, but he had no solid evidence.

"I want you to write all the banner men of House Tyrell, with their words and sigil" The maester was saying "If you finish that, which I expect you to, I want you to write a brief summary of the Tyrell's history" As Kaeth lifted himself up out of the chair he added "I must attend to some letters to the magister, leave your work on the table when you are finished, I will collect it later" and with that, he was gone.

Aegon had begun dipping his quill into the ink, "Aegon, have you heard what Viserys is planning?" Jon asked.

Without looking up from his work his brother replied. "Viserys plans a lot of things, so I tend not to focus on specific ones"

Jon frowned, Aegon was never the observant one, and he had a tendency to rely on Jon in that field. Sometimes Jon didn't know what Aegon would do if he was ever king. Take everyone's word at face value? Aegon put too much faith in people, always trying to see the good in people, but Jon knew some people had none of it in them.

"He plans to wed Dany to Khal Drogo," seeing the confusion on his face Jon elaborated. "You know of him, huge horselord, covered in body paint. The leader of that Dothraki tribe"

"I know who he is Jon. I just don't see why we should concern ourselves with it, and when have any of Viserys' plans ever shown results anyway?" Aegon said, talking to Jon as if he were younger than his actual age, "He is like a child with a toy: he will soon get bored and forget about it"

As usual Aegon was not taking this seriously; well Jon was going to change that. "Oh, so you don't mind him taking the seven kingdoms for himself, because that's his ultimate goal," realisation sunk in his face. Jon couldn't help but to feel a little smug for working it out before him

"He wouldn't do that, he has no claim to the throne. Anyone can tell him that" Jon thought he detected a hint of uncertainty in Aegon's words. "Come to think of it, I've noticed a change in his behaviour lately, always talking to himself, that's never a good sign"

**Theon**

Ah, the salty air, crashing waves and the sound of seagulls. This was the life; he certainly enjoyed. They had been at sea now for several days and the only Stark he had seen above deck was Arya. His adoptive land loving family hadn't taken kindly to the Narrow Sea. It wasn't entirely surprising though, he didn't think any of them apart from Lord Eddard had been on a ship. Robb's clear discomfort was satisfying for Theon; he had always felt inferior to the next lord of Winterfell, and being better at something than he was brought him great joy that he gladly revelled in.

"Theon" Arya shouted, her voice barely carrying over the rough of the ocean "I'll race you to the crow's nest." she raced off. He let her get a head start, after all she was only small and it would take her longer to get up.

Arya never ceased to amuse him, she was fearless and determined. If it wasn't for the fact she was tiny, Theon would have mistook her for a women of the iron islands. Besides Robb, he was closest to Arya, he liked the wild streak in her. It reminded him of his sister.

"It isn't fair on you if you start later. It only solidifies my win!" Arya exclaimed from slightly above. Not a moment after she called down to it was Theon climbing after his adoptive sister.


End file.
